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A blog for advertising creatives in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. To pass on news or advertise on the blog, or to subscribe to Campaign Brief Australia/NZ or CB Asia, or The Work 06 Annual, email: michael@campaignbrief.com

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

DE GIORGIO TO FILM CONSTRUCTION

Confirming a poorly kept secret, Roy De Giorgio is to join Film Construction in December as Executive Producer, Australia. Says FC executive producer, Peter Hewitt: "Roy's advertising and television experience and passion for the business, most recently as a Senior Producer at Clemenger BBDO Sydney will be a great asset to Film Construction, and to agencies who will now have a more day to day link to the roster of directors at Film Construction."Says De Giorgio: "Film Construction has a wealth of talent doing some great work - two Lions at Cannes last year alone. This is an exciting opportunity for me and I feel this production focus will really put Film Construction on the radar of agencies. We'll be delivering some fantastic work in 2008. Watch this space!"

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

MONKEYS RELEASE A BOOK

Sydney shop Three Drunk Monkeys has launched a book at a sold out breakfast in Sydney’s Botanic Gardens. The book titled ‘I can do anything’ was written for Kids For Life - a charity devoted to raising awareness and funds for the plight of sick and underprivileged children. The event was hosted by respected sports commentator Greg Clark and comedian Libby Gorr (aka Elle McFeast). I can do anything tells the story of a young boy who wakes one morning and realises he can achieve whatever he sets his mind to. The writing is set to photos of heroic figures from the last century: people who have overcome difficult odds and inspired generations of young people the world over - Muhammad Ali, Jacques Cousteau, Sir Donald Bradman, Picasso, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Neil Armstrong and Kelly Slater amongst others. “Our thinking was, if we could offer something substantial to people in return for a donation to Kids For Life it would be a win-win situation. People who buy the book receive an inspiring tale, a gift for friends or family, and at the same time they’re making a donation to Kids For Life.” Justin Drape, Creative Director. The book was published by Messenger Publishing and will be distributed by Gary Allen, Australia’s largest independent book distributor. It will be available in leading book stores (including Dymocks, Angus & Robertson and Collins) from December, and online now at kidsforlife.com.au, RRP. $14.95

VB AND SYMPHONY

.In a departure from the current campaign, the blue singlets and stubbie shorts traditionally associated with VB were replaced by black ties and tuxedos as 95 musicians from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria took to the stage at the Melbourne Concert Hall.Performed solely on 451 VB bottles and 6 timpani drums, the VB Symphony recreated the 40-year-old VB theme music, note for note. To achieve this, the musicians collaborated with renowned conductor Cezary Skubiszewski who designed and invented an array of new instruments to allow the performance to come together.Three months of development and rehearsal were required before the VB Symphony was ready to be performed on stage at the Melbourne Concert Hall.

JEFF GOODBY CHARMS TOUGH CAXTON AUDIENCE IN BYRON BAY

AWARDS PILE UP FOR KRIV STENDERS' BOXING DAY FILM

Pod Film’s director, Kriv Stenders (left) continues to break new ground with his Hi-Def feature film, Boxing Day.Boxing Day is a dramatically intense film about a father’s desperate struggle to reunite his shattered family over the course of a single afternoon. Told in real time and shot as a single take the film was co written and directed by Kriv Stenders.Since its national premiere at Adelaide Film Festival, Boxing Day has won numerous awards around the world including, The Directors Finder Award from the Australian Directors Guild (where he also received a Nomination for Best Director) and the Best Actor Award for Richard Green and a Special Jury Mention at the Montreal Festival Du Nouveau Cinema . Boxing Day has also received dual nominations at the 2007 IF awards for Best Direction and Best Actor.The Hollywood Reporter writes, “Stenders certainly establishes himself as one of Australia’s most prominent digital filmmakers"Boxing Day (left is a still from the film) launches on November 22nd at The Nova in Melbourne. Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane premiere dates are yet to be announced. A special launch screening, followed by a panel discussion will be held at the Nova on Tuesday the 20th of November at 6.30pm.Backing up his success with the film, Stenders continues to direct TV commercials via Pod. His latest award achievements include Silver for Best TVC at the Indonesian Advertising Awards for his Hutchison ‘Hide and Seek’ spot and nomination as a finalist for Best Direction at Asia Image APOLLO awards in Singapore for his Hutchison Brand spot.

Monday, October 29, 2007

RMIT STUDENTS GRADUATE

Hopeful RMIT Creative-Advertising graduates hang their work this week to be judged by peers and industry. This year's promotional campaign involved past students Ant Keogh, Josh Stephens, Ben Couzens, Jim Imgram, Mel Peters, Tom Martin, Amy Hollier and Gus Johnston. Shot by Alex Aslangul of Sugar Studios and retouched by Ross Goddard, the invitations and posters have been circulating Melbourne agencies over the past week.View student work and make your own decision as to who will be the next addition to the RMIT Advertising Hall of Esteemed Alumni.

GOODBY WOOS THE CAXTON CROWD IN BYRON BAY

Campaign Brief's Heather Jacobs reviews a top weekend.

Co-creation, trust and collaboration were the catchcries of the Caxtons on the weekend, something Ant Hatton of George Patterson Y&R Melbourne put into practise when he got his mate from Clemenger Sydney to wax his balls live on stage in an excruciating act which saw him win the talent quest with a score of 1000 and something. Apart from the painful display of bodily parts and a stolen golf cart by two allegedly drunk creatives at 5am Eastern Standard Time, there was very little indecent behaviour at the Caxtons, which was held at the gorgeous Byron on Byron Resort this weekend. In between ‘fucks’ - this expletive was used a record number of times during the speeches - clients, media directors and even researchers said they want to work more closely with creatives to create better work. And unlike the last time The Commonwealth Bank sent a marketing director to the Caxtons with Graham Ford slagging off creatives by saying they were out of step with the times, Mark Buckman was the picture of decorum and came through the weekend unscathed and even with a few new friends. International guest of honour Jeff Goodby (left) of Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, which this year snagged the bank’s advertising account, opened his speech with a tongue in cheek peace offering by revealing the phone number for the marketing director of Elizabeth Arden inviting Australian agencies to try to win the account, preferably before the launch of the next Britney Spears perfume. The laid-back Californian with his trademark ponytail even apologised for the behaviour of George W Bush before wooing the crowd with his amazing work for clients including Sprint, Hyundai, Comcast, Rolling Rock and the Got Milk campaign. As part of a complete restructure of the agency to allow it to create work for the digital world, creatives at the agency were told they needed to learn to do everything from TVCS to designing web sites and if they didn’t like it they could get their books together and start interviewing. While some did leave, the agency has been in expansion mode rapidly hiring people outside the traditional sphere including stand up comics, lawyers, rappers and videographers as part of the restructure instigated by co-managing director Derek Robson who analysed the business, only to find the staff didn’t reflect the skill base required for a digitally led agency. It doesn’t mean they didn’t stuff up some traditional jobs, admitted Goodby, but clearly they are doing something right, considering the agency won $US2 billion worth of new business over a four week period. Two billion dollars! (See next issue of Campaign Brief for full story).The funniest speech of the weekend was that of Richard Maddocks (right), the incoming creative chief for Clemenger BDDO Sydney, who gave a rollicking account of his top ten advertising agencies. Sorry Jeff, it’s not GS&P but places like McMahon and Tate, the agency in Bewitched, to Warren in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and D&D Advertising in Melrose Place. Maddocks has a starring role in each of these agencies, he has an affair from Samantha of Bewitched and gets her to use her magical powers to make all the planners disappear and find all the people who write nasty things about him on the Campaign Brief blog site. He is best mates with Warren’s Matthew McConaughey and calls him to profess his love, he cracks a brief for the VP of D&D Amanda Woodward (played by Heather Lochlear) and unsuccessfully propositions her, teaching him one of advertising’s most valuable lessons - rejection. While advertising is about 80% rejection, he said his first boss said for him it would be 95%.Speaking of constant rejection, researcher George Stent of Stent Research & Planning used his time at the podium to tell creatives that although he loves and respects creatives, they don’t seem to return the sentiment. He gave the top 10 tips on how to get work through research including flattering the researchers, bribing them with hints about a huge project in the pipeline if only the research turns up favourably, 9am debriefs, using intimidation tactics like hinting how much easier it is to sack the researchers than change the agency and re-frame the responses so the one person in the room who liked it is an opinion leader. Belinda Rowe, CEO of Zenith Optimedia and the new head of the AFA, also called for increased co-operation, this time between media and creative agencies, saying the two would never come back together in the same agency so it was best to accept this and get on with making it work as best you can. Research with creative directors on what they think of media directors came up with some enlightened insights as “they interbreed and create acne-free children”, or “it’s all about free tickets and goodie bags”.Instead, Rowe says, ‘co-creation’ is at the centre of a new business model for the advertising industry with the turf war between the two proving detrimental. As a starting point she suggests breaking down the silos and getting creative people involved in the MFA and media people invited to the Caxtons. This was the first time she’s been invited and she loved it. Matt Eastwood (left), national CD of DDB Sydney, encouraged creatives to look beyond the obvious and have fun with storytelling, taking the audience through several great examples of branded content he worked on while he was in the States, including a series of short films called Meet the Lucky Ones for the car brand Mercury (which helped sell 378 cars in its first four weeks) and the Conde Nast TV channel for Jetblue. His most recent brainchild is to create a TV network to be shown on the plasma screens in McDonald’s stores. However, what will most be remembered about his talk was that he loves cheese flavoured Goldfish biscuits and that somewhere in LA is a proposal for a pilot TV show called Crackers based around a cheddar flavoured animated fish called Fin, a pizza flavoured fish called Linda and a timid pretzel flavoured fish called Gilbert interlaced with moral messages for children about good behaviour which should be mandatory viewing for all future Caxton delegates. In other speeches Dennis Koutoulogenis of BMF revealed a Facebook page he’d created for William Caxton and pleaded for people to understand the power of words, calling on the might of the Greek empire. Rebecca Carrasco (right), creative partner of Colman Rasic Carrasco, talked about The Matrix-esque theory she has about reality, something she calls ‘the program’ which regulates our behaviour and something the best advertising executives step outside of to create great work; Annabel Crabb, political journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald dished the dirt on the politicians she’s covering for the election (sorry can’t share, it’s libellous), but the final word goes to David Thomason, general manager marketing, Meat and Livestock Australia, who said that sometimes there’s going to be an ad that bombs and he accepts that – because if you don’t get the occasional lame duck it means you are not trying hard enough or taking enough risks. If only everyone could be so understanding, but that hippie-like sanguine view of the world where everyone works together and loves each other may make perfect sense in Byron Bay but will probably disappear as quickly as lamb chops on a BBQ on Australia Day, with January now the top selling month for lamb thanks to a fast talking Mr Sam Kekovich.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand headed an exclusive clutch of just eight shops to score gongs at the 33rd Annual Caxton Awards, held tonight at the Byron at Byron Resort, Byron Bay, NSW.Saatchi’s won an impressive four Caxtons from their five finalists, the only NZ shop to win. Host Sydney, Happy Soldiers Sydney and Publicis Mojo Australia each scored two Caxtons. Publicis Mojo also won the Quinlivan Black Chairman’s Award for their Tourism Victoria ‘Maze’ advertisement.Four agencies won one Caxton apiece: DDB Sydney, Ad Impact Perth, KWP! Adelaide and M&C Saatchi, Melbourne.Outgoing Caxton chairman Tom Moult was praised for his tremendous efforts over the last three years to reinvigorate the Caxtons. Incoming Caxton chairman Rob Belgiovane promised to broaden the Caxton Awards next year to include digital creativity.A highlight of the night was the presentation of the Denis Everingham Award to the legendary John Bevins (right, in a 1986 pic), one of Australia’s greatest ever copywriters.

Friday, October 26, 2007

HENDERSON GETS CURIOUS

One of the industry’s most sought-after photographers Derek Henderson has joined Curious Film in Sydney as a director.Henderson is known for his ability to transform everyday scenes into works of beauty, and his exhibitions and books have enchanted audiences in New York, London, Australia and New Zealand. He is considered one of the region’s top fashion photographers, and his work is celebrated for its striking simplicity, quiet beauty and brazen honesty.“I think good photographers have a natural sense of light and composition, and also a sensitivity and an attention to detail, which can translate beautifully to film. I like to turn the mundane into the sublime, and I’d love to extend this curiosity into film,” says Derek, who lists Terrence Malick (director of The Thin Red Line) as a source of filmic inspiration.Born in New Zealand, Derek relocated to Sydney from London two years ago. In addition to his international client base, he has worked with agencies such as Publicis Mojo and DDB in New Zealand; as well as The Campaign Palace, Moon and JWT in Australia. He’s shooting a campaign for Mother London in New Zealand this month, while his editorial photography has appeared in international titles such as Vogue, i-D and Arena.“I’ve always been a huge fan of Derek. He’s shown me the beauty of many people, places & things. Therefore, I’m delighted that he has chosen to direct with us,” says Pete Grasse, GM of Curious Film.Since joining Curious Film in July 2007, Henderson continues to be represented by M.A.P. in London, New York and Australia, which represents some of the world’s most famous photographers including Philip Lorca Dicorcia and Alasdair McLennan. His passion for fine arts also distinguishes him from other directors – his first book and exhibition, The Terrible Boredom of Paradise, received glowing reviews in London, Sydney and Auckland. It’s the result of a 13,000 kilometre journey through remote areas of New Zealand, where Derek photographed drab suburban streets, desolate caravan parks and sagging old houses. He’s currently working on his second documentary art project, titled ‘Waikato River’.To view Derek’s reel, contact Pete Grasse at Curious Australia:peterg@curiousfilm.com / +61 430 596 071

THE BOB ISHERWOOD ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD - DEADLINE MONDAY

The deadline to enter the Bob Isherwood Encouragement Award is this coming Monday 29th October.AWARD’s long-standing tribute to unparalleled junior creative stars, the Encouragement Award, is being sponsored for the second year running by Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide.Isherwood is the inspirational Australian who has been Worldwide Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi for 10 years. Sponsoring this Award is highly appropriate given his reputation for spotting and engaging new talent. Isherwood will judge the entries and Mike O’Sullivan, ECD of Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand, will hand out the Award out on November 30th in front of 800 industry leaders at the AWARD Awards Presentation Evening in Sydney.The Encouragement Award has honoured young creatives since 1992, recognising those who have demonstrated an outstanding ability to answer briefs with a freshness of thought and creativity.Previous winners include Ted Royer, Dejan Rasic, Leo Premutico and Guy Rooke.

Eligibility Criteria – Deadline Monday 29th OctoberMaximum three years in an agency creative department Nominations taken by Creative Directors or Agency Management only Australian and New Zealand Applicants only Submissions – as jpeg, mpeg and word.doc/pdfs - max 4MB per file, on CD only – no email submissions acceptedFour examples of the entrant’s work; aired/published within the last 18 months One written reference from CD or Agency Management - .doc or pdf Entrant’s biography - .doc or pdf

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Bram Williams, currently Saatchi & Saatchi’s Head of Strategy on Toyota for the past 18 months, will replace Sudeep Gohil (left) as Head of Strategy, following the latter's decision to join former Saatchi ECD David Nobay at Droga 5 at the end of the year.It is believed that Gohil and Nobay will work on international projects for Droga 5 as well as set up a Droga 5 operation in Sydney.“We didn’t have to look far for the obvious successor to Sudeep,” said Saatchi CEO, Simone Bartley. “Bram has an impressive background, and was The Strategic Planning Director for Euro RSCG before joining us at Saatchi & Saatchi. He already has responsibility for a substantial portion of our business in his current role.“We have a very deep pool of talent at Saatchi and it is this which has made us the No.1 creative agency in the Asia Pacific.”Said Williams (below): “This is an incredible opportunity. I’m really looking forward to heading up a great team and turning out some excellent work.”Other key appointments to the Saatchi creative line-up, including Nobay's replacement, will be announced shortly.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

CHECK MATE: LUKE CHESS RESIGNS FROM BWM SYDNEY

BWM Sydney creative director, Luke Chess and director of digital communications Simon Smith have both resigned from the agency amid a major internal restructure to implement its Hub model across the entire agency. The multi-awarded Chess had only been at the agency since the beginning of the year (he will leave end of November), lured from Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney. While Smith, brought in from the UK, had only been there for six weeks. (Late addition: In an email to CB, BWM ECD Rob Belgiovane said: "Group heads will be reporting into me direct. Dean Hamilton...ex 180 Amsterdam, Dave Shirlaw ex M&C and Paul Bennell ex Clems Sydney. Given these guys should be good I reckon.")In a statement issued today, only one paragraph late in the release mentioned their departures, with the addition of the following: BWM thanks Smith and Chess for their excellent work at the agency, and wishes them well in their next challenge.Calls to Chess were unanswered. Paul Williams, BWM CEO, said the rolling out of the Hub model follows huge success of the structure on the BigPond account over the past two years. BWM has developed the model in collaboration with some of the world’s leading contemporary agencies via its affiliation with thenetworkone, which hosts seminars between the world’s leading independent agencies at the Cannes Advertising Festival. “We want to challenge the traditional ad agency structures and ensure our most senior talent are adding value where it most counts – on our clients’ businesses and brands. We have broken down the traditional Creative, Account Management, Planning and Digital departments, and teamed our most senior people from each skill set into complementary client Hubs. Each Hub will have specific creative, strategic and management autonomy, and report to the core management team of the founding partners and Management Board. “This aligns the core skill sets to focus on the only thing that clients ultimately care about, big ideas that deliver results.” Each Hub reports to the core management team of founding partners Executive Creative Director Rob Belgiovane, Williams, and Partner Jamie Mackay, supported by Planning Director Hristos Varouhas and Business Directors Nicole Taylor and Richard O’Rourke. BWM has recently been named among 11 of the world’s leading independent agencies in a special edition of Campaign Magazine UK, for the second year running. The publication has quickly become a controversial but influential barometer of the rising level of talent in independent advertising and marketing communications agencies. This year, BWM has added $32m in new business, including the online business of Virgin Money, NIB, PBL’s MyHome.com.au and Slate bourbon from Diageo.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

D’ALESSIO CHOOSES REPUBLIC

Sydney based Republic Films has signed top TVC director, Richard D’Alessio. Originally from Canada, D’Alessio’s awards include three Lions at Cannes, a USA Today #1 Super Bowl spot for Bud Light, and inclusion in four separate television specials highlighting the world's best commercials and most recently the Top Super Bowl Commercials Of All Time. Highly sought after, his work spans across the comedy, narrative and VFX genres with recent clients including campaigns from Levis, Renault and Nintendo. Republic Films’ Principal and Executive Producer, Adam Wells said: “Richard’s work speaks for itself. We’ve been in discussions for months, and we’re thrilled that we can now offer Richard up as part of the Republic roster”. As well as directing TVC’s, D’Alessio is founding partner in the advertising content portal, UNPLUGGED TV (www.unpluggedtv.com), responsible for cross-platform media content, including the ground breaking live action/animation webisodes featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Superman for American Express. Says Wells: “Our joint venture into UNPLUGGED TV allows Republic to also offer engaging and entertaining content to advertising agencies.” Contact Adam Wells at Republic: www.republic.tv

LONDON INTERNATIONAL AWARDS INTRODUCES FIRST-EVER SILVER STATUE TO 2007 CEREMONY

This year, the London International Awards (LIA) will debut the Silver Statue at its 12th November Celebration and Party at the Hippodrome, London. The Silver Statue has been established to recognise the superior calibre of the submissions received for the Awards Show. For the past 21 years, Gold was the highest honour and only statue presented to winners until now. The 2007 winners have been selected from an entry pool of 17,660 submissions. This vast number reflects the prestige and explosive growth of the London International Awards since its inception in 1986 when 2,600 submissions were considered.“The Silver Statue was established to acknowledge the work that didn’t warrant a Gold but deserved more than a Finalist recognition. So Silver is a good bridge between the two,” said Barbara Levy, President of London International Awards.This year’s ceremony will honour entrants with 286 Silver and 100 Gold Statues.Despite the addition of the Silver Statue, winning an award is more competitive than ever. Of the total entries, only two percent (2%) have received awards. One and a half percent (1.5%) have earned Silver and less than one percent (1%) Gold.“Our jury, which was comprised of some of the world’s top creative directors, debated intently before deciding on the 1,090 Finalists. It became clear that our decision to include Silver enabled the judges to honour submissions still deserving high acknowledgement,“ said Levy.Silver and Gold Winners will be announced at the Awards Celebration/Party on 12th November, 2007, 6:30pm at the Hippodrome, London. All Finalist entries can now be viewed at the London International Awards’ website, www.liaawards.com. Following the ceremony, a complete list of winners will be posted online.

MATT PALMER - SLIPPING IN TIME MULTI-MEDIA EXHIBITION

Film Construction Sydney director Matt Palmer is hosting a multi media exhibition in Surry Hills this month, at the China Heights Gallery in Foster Street.Palmer is a veteran of the Australian and New Zealand advertising and film industry. In the early nineties, his background in painting and music video production gained him the attention of the film industry. Since then his mix of strong visuals combined with a simple, storytelling style, has earned him a range of awards and a steady stream of projects in Australia and overseas. In recent times Palmer has turned towards photography to bridge the gap between his painting and his film work. This is his third exhibition in Sydney. For more on Matt’s work visit - www.mattpalmer.com.au.

About the ExhibitionPalmer has created a series of suggestive characters and landscapes that create an imaginary past. Their ghost-like appearance and painterly image intrigues and invites us to reminisce about the places and people we may have met in fairytales or our dreams. This new series by Matt Palmer is centred on his short film titled “Slipping in time”. The exhibition combines moving and still images to create a series of visual metaphors that set out to be both haunting and evocative. Says Palmer: “Stories and images exist to define the abstract parts of our lives that defy description. They set out to externalise, to paint a picture of the hidden. By playing with the line between dreams and reality I’m creating aspirations and desires that try to express what I imagine when I close my eyes. A series of feigned, affected experiences that are based on how life feels, much more than how it appears”.Matt Palmer is exhibiting his collection of images at China Heights Gallery, Level 3, 18 – 28 Foster Street in Surry Hills, from 9 - 16 November 2007. For more details call Matt Palmer on 0411 875 294 or go to www.mattpalmer.com.au

Saturday, October 20, 2007

THE CB BLOG TO GET REVAMP

Just in time for Campaign Brief to celebrate its one-millionth visitor in less than 12 months (the counter was started on December 5 last year), its website and blog will be overhauled by Sydney sister agencies Lowe Hunt and Rivet. The agencies have been entrusted with redesign and rebuild of what’s fast become an industry icon, due for publishing in three weeks.Once that’s done, Rivet and Lowe Hunt will take on an even more ambitious project – a total revamp of www.bestadsontv.com - CB's hugely popular worldwide ad showcase site.Says CB co-publisher and editor, Michael Lynch: “The Campaign Brief Blog has grown from a part time bit of fun in mid 2005 – we were the first advertising trade press to start a blog – into quite a fixture of the industry, with just about everyone who’s anyone checking in once a day. It was about time it had a more professional and slick look, rather than my adaptation of an off-the-shelf Blogger design! “I have complete faith that Lowe Hunt and sister agency Rivet will come up with something slick, yet classic, and easy to navigate – and I can’t wait to see what they can do with bestadsontv.com,” Lynchy says. Mark Ashley-Wilson, Rivet’s head of interactive Australasia (pictured second from right with his team), says it was flattering to be asked to upgrade the industry icon: “The number of visitors and content had outgrown the existing set-up, so we’re migrating the platform off Blogger to the latest professional Moveable Type 4 with much greater publishing flexibility. We’re designing a totally branded site as well, updating the sponsors section and adding search and categories as well so it’ll be easier to use.”

Friday, October 19, 2007

SAATCHI & SAATCHI SYDNEY WINS AUGUST/ SEPTEMBER COULD BE A CAXTON COMPETITION

A press ad for Toyota promoting its Landcruiser 70 Series has been announced as the August/September winner of the Could Be a Caxton competition, established by the Caxton Committee and supported by The Newspaper Works to recognise and showcase great creativity in newspaper advertising on a bi-monthly basis.

Dejan Rasic, Executive Creative Director of Colman Rasic Carrasco, and the judge of the August/September competition, said: “Perfect talent for the headline. Rock solid strategy. Stood out in the lot of ads I looked at”Buckley and Brown (pictured below) have won an all expenses-paid trip to the Caxton Weekend in Byron Bay at the end of October.The October/November competition is now open for entries. It’s free to enter and anyone can submit nominations. For more information on the winning Toyota ad, how to enter the Could Be a Caxton competition and the Caxtons in general, visit www.thecaxtonawards.com.au.

SAATCHI & SAATCHI NZ LEADS AWARD FINALIST PACK

Following two weeks of intense judging with a total of 83 judges participating, AWARD celebrates a total of 360 finalists, up by 52 on last year. Saatchi & Saatchi lead the finalist tally with an impressive 24 acceptances, followed by BMF Sydney and Saatchi Singapore with 17 apiece.See the

Australia has 157 finalists, compared to a 160 in 2006. New Zealand has 102, up by 15 from last year. Asia recorded an outstanding surge with 101 this year, up by 50 on 2006. This is a reflection of the large increase of entries from Asia this year in particular from China, Malaysia, The Philippines and Singapore.Toby Talbot, Chairman of Judges, says: “I want to thank everyone involved in chairing the juries and the tireless work of the organisers, led by Lucy Mckee and her team. When you consider that over 50 judges flew in from interstate and overseas this year, the AWARD management have done a great job ‘herding cats’. "The judges were evenly split between Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This has resulted in a more balanced, more outward looking Award show. The feedback from each jury has been really positive. The judging, though rigorous, was refreshingly free of politics. "Not only did we have more entries this year, we also had 52 more finalists than last year. It appears our industry is in pretty good shape. If you’re one of the finalists, congratulations because you’ve done something bloody good. If you go on to win more on the night of November 30th, then you’ll be fully entitled to broach that pay rise with your CD. This year, we have an exciting new venue for the AWARD Awards Presentation Evening, the stunning CarriageWorks. We will have some great and worthy winners on the night. I hope the industry turns out in force to applaud them all.”

The AWARD Awards Presentation Evening is being held on Friday 30th November 2007 at CarriageWorks at Eveleigh Rail Yards, Eveleigh. Tickets will go on sale next week. For bookings please visit www.awardonline.com. All AWARD Members and Non Members welcome.

THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM

Honda’s ‘Impossible Dream’ has been digitally remastered with English flags throughout. Running in the UK right now. (And the track becomes strangely appropriate!)One for the Aussies and Kiwis to hate anyway....

HELP ROB MARTIN-MURPHY RIDE 500km IN CAMBODIA FOR MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY

ROB SAYS THANKS BLOGGERS! A big thanks to all the bloggers who have donated to Challenge MD charity bike ride. So far the extra donations have totalled over $2000. Of course, more donations would be greatly appreciated. The deadline for donations is 5pm today. So please, if you want to donate, make sure you do it before the end of the day...

Rob Martin Murphy, creative director of The Furnace, Sydney is cycling over 500km in Cambodia to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy. All money raised goes to the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Australia to help them find a cure for the disease and help them continue to support sufferers of it. He leaves this Sunday (Oct 21st) and is looking for final donations before the deadline this Friday (19 Oct). If you are interested in making a donation before Friday, here are the details:

Then click on the Rider Profile section. There you will find Rob's Rider Profile. Then click on the Sponsor Rider button and complete the details. Credit Cards (Diners/Visa/Mastercard except Amex) are accepted. The payment system is secure and of course, all donations are tax deductible.

Please give generously to this very worthy cause if you can. No pressure of course, but Buddha is watching...

MTV DOES ANOTHER 180

MTV Networks Australia in association with Optus and Samsung have launched the 2007 One80 Project with two humorous spots directed by David Jagoda that appeals to anybody who has a good idea for a drama to submit their 180 second pilot and script to ONE80PROJECT.COM.AUThe winner will commissioned to produce a one hour pilot drama for MTV to be screened cross-platform on Broadcast Television, Mobile Phones and the Internet This year MTV are broadening their message by appealing to the general public and not just industry professionals via a campaign that demonstrates that a good idea can happen to anybody, at anytime. With a mixture of understated humour and a little schedenfreud, we illustrate this egalitarian notion by showing what happens to a young hair stylist and a security guard when they experience a ‘lightbulb’ moment or an epiphany, at an inappropriate time.

LOST: A GOOD IDEA

Whilst the very same print ad run in this month's issue of Campaign Brief for Cranbrook Films director Roger Tompkins has been very well received in New Zealand, with the talented mega director already receiving a couple of red hot scripts, the same ad has brought a very different view from the Australian industry, says Tompkins: “look, I was just trying to have some fun wot with the work coming out of oz being so iffy over the pass few years, either you get the same old totti or a good idea mangled by the suits, client or research. That or you find some old lag of a CD trying to get a handle on cross media platforms, sending the creative department down the crapper. So the last thing I expected was death threats just for asking for a good TV idea, bloody hell TV is still the best medium. One stonkingly good TVC and mum’s got dad's wallet in her little hot hand…”

Thursday, October 18, 2007

THE SWEET SHOP SIGNS NEW DIRECTORS FOR WORLDWIDE REP

The Sweet Shop have signed two new directors for worldwide representation. New Zealand-based, Taika Waititi, has joined the roster after gaining the company’s attention with his debut feature film ‘Eagle vs. Shark’, (official selection Sundance Film Festival) and his direction of HBO comedy-hit series, ‘Flight of the Conchords’ episodes. Not to mention his Oscar-nominated short film ‘Two Cars, One Night’. Also added to the roster is The Sweet Shop’s youngest director, Sam Holst - who has spent the past year as in-house director’s assistant to Steve Ayson. Prior to joining The Sweet Shop, Holst’s award-winning short film, ‘Swing’ won the ‘Make a Film. Make a Difference’ competition hosted by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) in Australia. It went on to appear at numerous showcases and festivals around the world - including the shots / CFP-e Young Director Award Showcase in Cannes. It also picked up a Silver Clio, saw Holst profiled in shots - New Directors and nominated a Finalist for Best Film Direction at the Melbourne Art Directors Club (MADC) Awards in Australia up against a handful of the nations top directors. Paul Prince, Managing Director of The Sweet Shop explains: “It’s not often The Sweet Shop adds new talent to its roster, but I have so much respect for Sam and Taika. I’m honoured to have them join our team. I’ve been working with Sam in-house over the last year, while he’s been working with Steve Ayson and his contributions were obvious. So when we decided to add new directors to our roster, Sam was the first person we asked. I really looking forward to seeing him express his craft in The Sweet Shop environment”. Prince continues: “We’ve been watching Taika’s work for a while, absolutely loved ‘Two Cars, One Night’ and we knew he had a strong comedy bent. When his feature came out he was too hard to ignore - and I was over the moon when we sat down and discussed the possibility of him working in the commercial film environment. Taika is a true creative in his own right and I have a lot of respect for his imagination and versatility. I’m sure he’ll be presented with some great opportunities and will contribute powerfully to strong ideas”.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

AWARD ANNUAL OUT AT LAST!

The 2006 AWARD Annual is finally out. Yes, it is late, for which AWARD apologises.A lot of time and effort has gone into it, and AWARD was determined to save members’ money by having the Annual printed offshore. This has resulted in a significant saving, which is being put to other uses including an increased number of events to involve more of their membership.By now, Members will have received their copy, and all overseas members should have them next week.Non Members can purchase their copy online at www.awardonline.com – AWARD Annual. Price: AUD 170 + GST and postage.The other good news is that this year’s annual is already in production and will be available early in 2008.

CANNES RADIO LIONS CD FREE WITH CB THIS ISSUE

The September/ October edition of Campaign Brief magazine features a special wrap and CD showcasing all the Cannes Radio Lions 2007 and Siren 2007 Winners.This is a huge edition which no creative can afford to miss. The special edition of Campaign Brief celebrates the success of Australian radio, taking you inside the jury room and back stage at Cannes. There are also feature interviews with winner of the Radio Lions Grand Prix, Paul Reardon and Cannes judge Ralph van Dijk. Everything to help you develop your next winning campaign! To subscribe to Campaign Brief, email your details to: perth@campaignbrief.com

DROGA FOR D&AD

for the Awards Call for Entries. It’s a tongue-in-cheek Q&A with Dave Droga and the first in a series of three short films designed to encourage entries to the D&AD Awards 2008. This year’s campaign for D&AD is themed, “But is it a Pencil?” inspired by debates that happen every day in agencies and studios as creatives evaluate the merits of a new idea. The entry site launched on 10 October at www.dandad.org/awards08.The films feature interviews with Yellow Pencil winners who reveal how they came up with that elusive great idea; how by repeatedly asking the question, “But is it a Pencil?” they produced work that colleagues, clients and juries wished they’d come up with. The films were animated by D&AD Student Award 2007 winners.Saatchi & Saatchi, London created this year’s campaign which includes print ads and three films. The agency has worked with D&AD since 2006 and this is the first time an agency has been retained by D&AD for more than one annual cycle.

Credits:Created by Brian Connolly at Saatchi & Saatchi, LondonAnimated by Johnny Sanders from Ravensbourne College of Design & Communication

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

BEN BRIAND'S HAMMER BAY DEBUTS TONIGHT ON MTV

Cherub Pictures' director, Ben Briand won the MTV Project 180 competition earlier this year and was commissioned to produce a one hour pilot drama for MTV to be screened cross-platform on Broadcast Television, Mobile Phones and the Internet. Entitled Hammer Bay, the pilot is the first drama to be commissioned by MTV and premieres tonight (Tuesday 16 October) at 7pm. Hammer Bay was created in conjunction with Optus, Sony Ericsson and MTV. (View the trailer above). Hammer Bay is about the beachside murder of teen beauty and drama pet, Amanda Blakely (Jessica McNamee) who is found dead on the beach rocks of Hammer Bay. When a documentary crew arrive asking questions, a captivating study into the minds and psyche of the sleepy town unfolds. The lines between the observant film crew, interview participants and police begin to blur, as family members, friends and strangers all start to demonstrate one common thread - everyone is hiding something.Hammer Bay features an extraordinary cast, including Australian acting identity Jacki Weaver (“Cosi”, “Picnic At Hanging Rock” as well as countless Sydney Theatre Company and MTC productions), Guy Edmonds (Griffin Theatre’s “Holding The Man” and “All Saints”), Amy Mizzi (“Home and Away”) and real-life sisters Penny McNamee (“See No Evil” and “Salem’s Lot”) and Jessica McNamee (“Home and Away”), who play sisters in Hammer Bay.Director Ben Briand is the creator of music videos, short films, video installations and commercials. Ben has been recognised as a director who has a firm grasp on multiple visual language styles and techniques. Ben’s work in commercials includes Ballantine’s ‘Soccer Can’, the Contiki travel cinema commercials which were shot across 11 countries, Saxby’s Ginger Beer ‘Ginger Smile’ and most recently for ‘VSC’ for Toyota and ‘Night Tennis’ for Sony Ericsson.Born in Melbourne and growing up in Sydney Ben spent most of his teenage weekends watching Rage music videos and cutting VHS to VHS short art films together with his school friends. By the age of 21 he was teaching the new complexities of digital video production and post-production language in the highly regarded Bachelor of Digital Media at the University of NSW. His strong technical ability combined with an unorthodox visual approach resulted in Ben taking out the first place and $10 000 prize for the Government initiative, Play Now Act Now, with his short film ‘Leaving’.Ben is the youngest and most recent director to join Cherub Pictures. Amongst the ranks of fellow members Andrew Dominik (Chopper, Assassination of Jesse James), Cate Shortland (Somersault), John Curran (The Painted Veil, We Don’t Live Here Anymore) and Justin Kurzel (Blue Tongue). Hammer Bay will premiere on MTV tonight, Tuesday 16th October @ 7pm with repeats on Thursday 18th October @ 1pm & 10.30pm; and Saturday 20th October @ 6pm. Hammer Bay will be seen on Broadcast Television, Mobile Phones and the Internet.

NEW APPOINTMENTS AT FSM

As a fresh approach to the needs of the advertising, television and film industries, Sydney based FSM has appointed Dean Sutherland to new role as FSM Head of Production and Nathan Wellington as Executive Producer.Sutherland recently finished with Cutting Edge where he spent 12 years, with the last 2½ years as executive producer and manager of their Sydney commercial operation.Wellington has been working for FSM as Post Production Supervisor within the Longform department for the last 2 years. He has been active within the post production industry lobbying the State and Federal Governments for support in the sector. His role will be to build on existing contacts and foster new relationships within the film and commercial market both locally and overseas. He will be investigating new media opportunities and future directions for FSM as the company moves forward. “Dean was selected after some exhaustive searching. He brings a level of experience and enthusiasm for the job that is not easily found and it’s his role to lead the team of producers and FSM artists as we move forward,” says FSM co-founder Steve Dunn.“We no longer consider FSM a facility where we simply have equipment and supply people to operate the gear” says FSM Managing Director Rick Schweikert. “So we’re removing the term facility from our vocabulary and introducing a single production department to unify our processes of post production. FSM is a creative community of colour grading artists, effects compositors, editors, designers and 3D animators and we simply use technology to support these roles. Our clients have a wide range of experience, from those highly trained and knowledgeable to more junior producers who are thirsty to learn. We want to guide them through the post process and to a large degree our facilities staff already act as producers.” “Nathan and Dean’s positions within FSM are valuable new additions and strengthen our production department,” says Schweikert. “Steve and I will remain very hands on and visible but the company is a size where this level of additional seniority and experience is welcomed by our staff and clients and allows us to grow FSM into the future.” More staff appointments in key operational areas can be expected soon.

SEAN MEEHAN WINS BEST PERFORMANCE DIRECTION

continued its award winning run on Saturday night at the Australian Directors Guild awards where it won best performance direction for Sean Meehan @ Soma Films. There is only one award given in the category so something to crow about.

BARKER WINS AT ADG AWARDS

David Barker from Taxi Film Production was awarded ‘Best Direction in a Music Video’ at the inaugural Australian Director’s Guild Awards for his stellar work on Butterfinger’s music video "Get up Outta The Dirt". The ADG awards are the only awards in Australia where the work is judged solely by peers.“Music Videos are a labour of love, so being recognized for your craft is probably the best reward that you can receive – outside the actual artist’s liking it. With the ADG awards, it’s inspiring to have that honor bestowed upon you by your fellow directors,” says Barker. Barker has enjoyed over 10 years of TVC directing experience, forging a reputation as a director that combines memorable performances within a rich visual aesthetic. “I enjoy coming up with a fresh new idea for a clip as much as I enjoy directing them,” adds Barker. See the winning work -

MARKETFORCE CLEAN UP AT GLITTERING PADC AWARDS

One could have been forgiven for thinking one was at the famous Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday night, as Western Australia’s finest in creative talent descended upon His Majesty’s Theatre.The iconic landmark hosted the Perth Advertising & Design Club’s (PADC) 2007 Annual Awards night. The event recognises creative excellence across numerous categories including Print, Radio, Television/Cinema and Social Marketing. The Awards have been running for over 20 years and are open to agencies, contractors and students.Marketforce swept up on the night, collecting a total of 8 gongs, including one of the few Gold awards given and the coveted West Australian Fellowship. This award recognises the best newspaper advertisement appearing in The West Australian newspaper and was awarded to the marketing communication company for its “Tourism Wave” advertisement for Tourism WA. Winners of this award receive $5,000 and a trip to the Cannes Advertising Awards, widely considered the world’s most important advertising award show.Two other special awards were also given on the night. Brainestorm received The Upson Medal for Sound for their “Save it for the Game – Rock Out” production for Rugby WA. However, RARECreativethinking won the highest honours for “Train” for the Public Transport Authority. The company received the PADC Medallion for Excellence, which acknowledges the single piece of work that stands above all others for creative excellence.Other winners of note included The 303 Group in the categories of Print, Television/Cinema, Social Marketing and Charity and The Brand Agency took home Silver and Bronze awards in the categories of Design, Ambient/Innovative, Art Direction and Photography. Jerome Baldsing took home the Student Advertising Award for Creative Service. In true theatrical style, the night opened with a magician’s act, after which Acting President of PADC, Mark Braddock, welcomed guests and acknowledged the Judging Jury. The prestigious judging line-up this year included Kevin Finn (best known for his tenure at Saatchi Design in Sydney), independent creative consultant Len Cheeseman, Juggi Ramakrishnan, ECD of BBDO Singapore, Cameron Hoelter, a CD at Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne and Chairman of Judges, Ben Nott, Creative Director and Partner at Droga5.Sponsors Nova 93.7 added their touch to the Awards with radio breakfast show hosts, Nathan and Nat, announcing the finalists and winners in their own inimitable style. “We’re absolutely delighted with the continued success of the Awards and congratulations to all who entered and were awarded,” commented Liz Bindon-Bonney, General Manager, PADC. “This year we received a record number of entries (460), with the standard continuing to be exceptionally high. It’s an excellent opportunity for those in the industry and those wanting to join the industry to network and view the talent pool of work originating from WA.”“We’re also extremely grateful to the ongoing support we receive from our industry partners, without whom these Awards would not be possible,” she added. “It’s so encouraging to see companies such as Meerkats offering Internships for up and coming talent in the industry.”The PADC’s online directory, CreativeHUB, showcases the work of industry participants and will include a gallery of the night’s winning entries this week. For more information about the Awards, visit the PADC website at www.padc.com.au

Saturday, October 13, 2007

PREMUTICO AND JACOBS LEAVE SAATCHI'S NEW YORK

Star Aussie expat creative Leo Premutico (left) and his partner Jan Jacobs (right) have departed Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, where they were joint executive CDs under chief creative officer Tony Granger. The pair helped Saatchi NYC win the Cannes Agency of the Year title this year, and the No 3 spot last year. Where they are off to next is a mystery, although one presumes it's to start their own shop. When contacted by CB, Premutico could not reveal their future plans as they were still contracted to Saatchi's until the end of October.Interestingly, Jan Jacobs formerly partnered David Nobay, when the two were Creative Directors at Bozell NY under Tony Granger. Nobay, who has just left the ECD gig at Saatchi & Saatchi Australia, has not revealed his next move, although many suspect he will announce a partnership with David Droga's DROGA5 later in the week. If Jacobs and Premutico are connected to the ever expanding Droga family, it would certainly make for the beginnings of a very powerful creative network.

ANOTHER BEST DIRECTION NOM FOR GRAEME BURFOOT

Filmgraphics Graeme Burfoot's has just been nominated for another Best Direction awards for his work on 'Find Changes' for NBCC, tis time at the London International Awards. This new nomination follows other from NY FESTIVALS, ADFEST 2007 and a Bronze Clio for the spot. Burfoot's year has been a good one with awards and nominations coming for Caltex FLIES and more recently Burfoot has been nominated for Direction at the first awards staged by Australian Directors Guild for his work on the series 'TWO TWISTED'. Currently Burfoot is working with BWM, BMF and is about to head to Europe shooting with McCanns New York.

Friday, October 12, 2007

A FEW GOOD CREATIVE MEN

Thursday, October 11, 2007

CUMMINS SELLS TO NITRO

Cummins & Partners has finally been sold to Nitro, Chris Clarke's mini agency group with offices in Shanghai, New York, London and Melbourne. Under the deal, Nitro takes a 50% stake in Cummins, which will be increased to full ownership by 2009. Nitro's Melbourne operation will be merged into Cummins’ Melbourne premises. It will be interesting to see if there are any further developments relating to the departures of Sydney co-creative directors Bettina Clark and Carolyn Diamond, and the bitter ousting of former Cummins Melbourne general manager, Amber Philips. A close associate of Philips says she is taking legal action against Cummins for unfair dismissal.

CRC MAKES ITS FIRST HIRE

Sydney startup colman rasic carrasco has made its first hire, appointing Alex Romans as Junior Creative, coming a few days after the agency's win of the Barclays Global Investors account. Romans joins CRC after a recent win at D&AD. ECD’s Rebecca Carrasco and Dejan Rasic say “The kid’s got a big future".

Monday, October 08, 2007

CLARK AND DIAMOND DEPART CUMMINS' SYDNEY STARTUP

Amongst all the talk of a sale of Cummins & Partners to Nitro, Bettina Clark (left) and Carolyn Diamond (below left), who were only appointed joint creative directors of the fledgling Cummins & Partners Sydney office (an apartment in Woolloomooloo) four months ago, have left. The pair told CB they have quite a few options to pursue. Bettina Clark: 0402 917 711. Carolyn Diamond: 0414 496 781.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, Cummins Melbourne general manager Amber Philips, who has been at the agency for several years, has been dismissed. Ms Philips was not available for comment but a close associate told CB that she is in the process of taking legal action against Cummins & Partners for unfair dismissal.UPDATE 11.10.07.... Cummins has sold to Nitro, Chris Clarke's mini agency group with offices in Shanghai, New York, London and Melbourne. Nitro takes a 50% stake in Cummins, which will be increased to full ownership by 2009. Nitro's Melbourne operation will be merged into Cummins’ Melbourne premises.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

RENEGADE DIRECTORS NOMINATED AT INAUGURAL DIRECTOR'S GUILD AWARDS

Renegade Films TV commercial directors Tony Rogers, Sean Byrne and Julius Avery have all received nominations in the inaugural Australian Director's Guild Awards. Avery and Byrne have been nominated for their commercial work for Ford 'Barry Hall' and Peter McCallum Hospital 'Ticket' and TAC' Double Bus', whilst Rogers has been nominated for his Comedy/Drama Wilfred, the eight part cult tv series featuring the bong smoking dog! Julius Avery, who was voted Australia's Emerging Film Maker of the year at last year's Melbourne International Film Festival, is also nominated for his short filmEnd of Town.Coincidentally, Renegade's reputation for great comedy and performance spots was enhanced by the inclusion of three spots by Renegade directors featuring on Channel Nine's new prime time show featuring the funniest tvc's from around the World.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

KLEMAN TO EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, LEVINE TO CD OF EURO RSCG NEW YORK

Euro RSCG Worldwide New York has hired celebrated creatives Robert Kleman (right) as an Executive Creative Director and Jason Levine (left) as a Creative Director. The pair will oversee various agency accounts and will play key roles on Heineken USA's Dos Equis brand, the international Kraft account as well as new business.Kleman comes from TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York where he was an Associate Creative Director for the past two years. He was recently part of the major award-winning Snickers Halloween print campaign and the re-launch of the ABSOLUT Vodka brand campaign. Previously he was a Creative Partner at TBWA\Singapore for six years where he helped the agency win Agency of the Year two years running. In 2005, Kleman was named the Most Awarded Person in Asia by Campaign Brief Asia Magazine.Levine comes to Euro RSCG from Publicis, where, as Senior Vice President and Creative Director, he launched Vault energy drink, and developed campaigns for the Manhattan Short Film Festival and Amstel Light. He launched his career at D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles as an art director and copywriter. The pair have each accumulated a superb reputation and an enviable list of awards over the last ten years, including D&AD Pencils, Gold Cannes Lions, Gold One Show Pencils, Best of Shows and Clios. “Not ready to leave New York just yet, I can’t wait to create some highly talked about work at the flagship Euro RSCG office here in the States,” said Kleman. “I’m thrilled at being giving this mandate and opportunity to work with the agency that won Global Agency of the Year by Advertising Age and Advertising Network of the Year by Campaign in 2006.”"I have admired the work of Euro RSCG for some time now, both in the States and abroad," added Levine. "As a fan of the 'Most Interesting Man' campaign myself, I am especially looking forward to taking the Dos Equis creative to the next level."

JOSH BAKER NAMED KODAK NEW DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

TVC director Josh Baker from the Sydney Film Company is the inaugural KODAK AWARD New Director Of The Year. Greg McKibbin, Regional Business General Manager & Vice President, Entertainment Imaging, Eastman Kodak Company announced Baker’s win at a special cocktail party designed specifically for the occasion. Held on at The Water Bar at BLUE Sydney, the sell-out event screened the work of all five finalists in the presence of guests including VIP's, the AWARD Award Judges. Chosen from a list of finalists whose work represented an exceptional standard and an amazing variety of ideas, Baker’s submission included three TVC’s: Telstra “Spread The Good Stuff” created by George Patterson Y&R, Sydney, McDonald’s “See Things” and Heineken “Past Experience”, which were both created by Leo Burnett, Sydney. “It was extremely encouraging to witness the respect and interest shown by this prestigious audience as the finalists' work was screened,” noted McKibbin. “Josh is a remarkably talented and most deserving winner and it is our honour to announce him as the inaugural KODAK AWARD New Director Of The Year.” As the KODAK AWARD New Director Of The Year, Baker will receive a prize of 10 x 400’ loads of 35mm Kodak Motion Picture Film valued at approximately AUD 4,000.00 and will be introduced and recognised at the AWARD Presentation Evening to be held on November 30th, 2007 at CarriageWorks, Eveleigh Rail Yards, Sydney. Finalists were selected from an impressive collection of entries from thirteen cities from eight separate countries from around the Asia Pacific Region and the following finalists are also to be congratulated:

For further details visit www.awardnewdirector.com To view images from the night visit http://www.gekkoimages.com.au/Award/kodakawardindex.php For more information on Josh Baker visit www.sydneyfilm.com.au

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

WHERE ARE ALL THE GREAT ADS?

If you're wondering why all the latest ads are no longer on the Blog, the very best of them are on www.bestadsontv.com, along with other great work from around the world. Check out the best TV, Press, Print, Outdoor, Ambient, Viral, Interactive and Integrated. Now updated daily, make sure you check in daily.

LEFTY BECOMES LOVE'S RIGHT HAND MAN

Love Communications, Sydney has appointed Andrew Leftley, also known as ‘Lefty’, as senior art director. Leftley (pictured) has recently returned to Sydney after a stint at Saatchi & Saatchi Dubai and has previously worked at M&C Saatchi, McCann Erickson and Publicis Mojo. At Love, he’ll work across the board on the majority of Love’s accounts, and will cross-pollinate with a number of writers, including CD, Scot Waterhouse, and Executive CD Siimon Reynolds. “Lefty, brings with him great skills; he’s a great art director, a great concept creator and he’s a top bloke,” said Waterhouse. Love has also hired Ben Alden as a graphic designer to bolster Love’s in house design team. “We’ve been pitching like mad, and it’s paid off. We’ve won some great new pieces of business and we can now tool-up creatively, so within the next few weeks, we’ll put on another couple of creatives,” added Waterhouse. In the past nine months, Love has won Ego Pharmaceuticals, Davenport, The Climate Institute and Breville to name but a few.

INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR TINA BULL JOINS LUSCIOUS

After completing her latest campaign for Grey Worldwide New York, director Tina Bull has moved to Luscious International for worldwide representation.With numerous international awards, she brings a strong design background mixed with a highly art directed performance based, directorial style. For more information or to view her showreel contact Andrew Morris or Tracy Proposch at Luscious International on talk2us@luscious.com.au or 02 9326 3400.

Monday, October 01, 2007

SONG ZU SYDNEY IMPORTS TOP MELBOURNE SOUND DESIGNER

Song Zu has brought multi award-winning Melbourne sound-designer, Dee Gjedsted up to Sydney to re-place Abby Sie who has moved to Song Zu Singapore. Gjedsted (pictured) has been an integral part of the Melbourne industry since 1995 where, whilst working at Duffield Kenihan, he went by the name of Dee@DK and quickly gained a loyal client base including Mazda, Ford, Honda, Nintendo and TDK. After Duffield Kenihan parted ways in 2003 Dee formed Prolific Music where he continued to immerse himself in large scale music and sound design. Says Ian Lew, Managing Director of Song Zu: "Dee is somebody whose work we have admired for a long time and who we're delighted to have finally persuaded to make the move up to Sydney by promising him a mixture of surf, sand and ludicrous licencing laws."For a copy of Dee's reel contact ian@songzu.com.

YOUNG GUNS' AWARD SHOW VIRGINS: THE FINAL ACT

At last, the end is nigh! Feast your eyes upon our three Award Show Virgins as their sordid tale culminates in an immense and blistering finale. Top creative director Glenn stars as the young creative hit maker, who is finally allowing his anxious young virgins the fleeting chance to grip fame. Be enchanted by cameo appearances from some of advertising's most influential apostles. Be jostled from your ergonomically enhanced office chair by an unexpected surprise twist ending that has the potential to make sense of the universe we live in. And best of all, revel in the glorious completion of what could have been the greatest amount of cheap sexual innuendo ever woven into what could very well be the most ridiculous (and expensive) way to promote an award show ever! These sentences may run on, but the show will not. Find the link for the Finale in the theatre programme at

DOUGLAS TO JOIN DIGI POST

Film Construction GM Stephen Douglas will make a return to post production as the new GM at leading Tran-Tasman and international post facility Digi Post.Douglas began his career in NZ in 2002, when he was brought over from running Condor Digital Media London to help establish Auckland’s Oktobor post production. In 2005 he moved to production to take up the role of GM at Film Construction. After three years at FC, Douglas leaves the production company as ‘Production Company of the Year (Axis 2007) and Cannes 2007 Silver and Bronze winners.Says FC’s Peter Hewitt and Perry Bradley: “He’s been an instrumental catalyst as part of our team in us having huge success in NZ, Australia and around the world. Not only has he been a tremendous advocate for Film Construction, but for the New Zealand industry around the world, and I’d expect that to continue in his new role’.Douglas takes up his new position at the end of October.